Challenge to pay off Pocatello-Chubbuck school lunch debt nearly over, with one fundraiser remaining

POCATELLO – The question isn’t if enough money has been raised to pay off total school lunch debt – it’s how much can that total be exceeded.

On March 29, married couples Jesse and Mary Baeza and Josh and Hailey Knowlton launched a challenge for the Pocatello-Chubbuck community to pay off $6,100 of school lunch debt in 30 days. Although the fundraiser has far exceeded that total, there’s still time for more donations to be made, with a short time remaining.

“Every single penny that we’re raising, every single dollar, is going straight to school kids’ lunches, so the more we can do, the better,” Jesse said.

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The final fundraising event for the challenge will be held on Friday at Off the Rails Brewing, located at 228 South Main Street, starting at 6 p.m. A local artist named Dawson Moon will be playing music at the restaurant.

And while the details have not been finalized, on May 1, the four organizers plan to meet with Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 for a check presentation.

The final amount that will be presented to the school district has also not been yet finalized, but Jesse knows that it’s around $11,000. This total is already much higher than their first goal, which was to pay off the total school lunch debt, and it’s approaching their second goal – of doubling that total.

The total school lunch debt typically ranges from $9,000 to $11,000, said Courtney Fisher, spokesperson for PCSD 25 in an interview in March. It especially peaks in December, when the holidays add a greater financial burden for families.

Hailey told EastIdahoNews.com that she could see how the debt could climb back up, even with the money that’s been raised so far.

“Everything is so expensive right now, and so I definitely think I can see how this adds up,” Hailey said.

This is why the organizers see it as so important to raise as much money as possible.

“(The more funds raised), the longer that the debts are cleared and the bigger cushion that we have,” Jesse said.

Hailey doesn’t feel like they’ve had to do much in the way of outreach to businesses to get them involved in the challenge.

“I don’t even feel like we’ve necessarily had to reach out. I feel like a lot of businesses have reached out to us,” Hailey said. “Businesses have been willing to say, ‘Hey, what can we do to help? How could we help you?’”

Although both Jesse and Haley know Pocatello and Chubbuck as a giving community, they’ve still been surprised to see the response the challenge has received.

“I know that our community always shows up, but it’s always so awesome to see so many people stepping in and supporting this, just like all hands on deck,” Hailey said.

“When (we) started this, the feedback was so positive,” Jesse said. “I feel like we have a great community (where) we’re all still willing to help each other and look out for the children, so it really means a lot.”

As the challenge has progressed, Fisher said that the school district has been impressed with how the organizers have tackled the project.

“We’ve been really impressed by Jesse’s passion for this project and the way this group has brought our business community together to support SD25 and the youth we serve. It’s a great example of what it looks like when a community comes together to make sure every child feels supported,” Fisher said.

And while the organizers want to turn this into an annual event, and have had some talks about turning it into a nonprofit organization, they’re currently focused on finishing out strong on the challenge they’ve already issued.

“It’ll be something where we’ll sit down and really have a conversation about it. We definitely want to keep it going. We just want to go about it the right way so we can get … the community involved,” Jesse said.

But regardless of what happens after the challenge is complete, the organizers are thankful to those who’ve already taken part.

“It’s been a month full of gratitude and positive feedback for this, and … we’re so grateful for everyone who stepped in,” Hailey said.